I had expressed doubts about the value proposition of OnLive in my review, and OnLive has been addressing these commonly held concerns in a couple of ways. First, they introduced the MicroConsole, which starts shipping today. That $99 device allows you to play any OnLive game on your home television … well, so long as the game supports it! Today we learn of a new PlayPack system from OnLive. For $9.99 per month, subscribers get unlimited access … to certain older and cheaper games from the library. Here is a sample: •Prince of Persia®, Ubisoft •NBA® 2K10, 2K Sports •Tomb Raider™: Underworld, Square-Enix •F.E.A.R. 2, Warner Bros •Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X.™, Ubisoft •Unreal Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Just in time for the start of December (and Hannukah!), GameLoft has announced a month-long deal – from now through the 25th they are offering a deal-a-day through their Twitter feed. Here are the details from their blog: We all know December is the longest and most unfair month of the year: why wait until the 25th to receive your Christmas presents? We at Gameloft have decided to put an end to this mean practice by offering a surprise gift every day in December until Christmas to all our fans and anyone who is in the festive spirit. And the best part is how simple it is! Every day we’ll announce Continue reading on Gear Diary …

We are all feeling the financial pinch!  Blue Plate Special is a weekly review of bargain apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Nothing over $.99. The addition of GameCenter on my iPhone has definitely sold me on several games.  Casual and puzzle games seem to be much more enjoyable when I get to compare my friend’s scores and talk a little trash (or hear some).  It seems like the most enjoyable of these games are puzzle style games that can be open ended.  The latest games my friends and I have been locking horns with is Flight… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I did a review on a few so-called ‘freemium’ games, including two MMORPGs that became free after a period of charging monthly fees. Now you can add Pirates of the Burning Sea to that list! The official site details the three membership levels: free, Premium and Captain’s Club. The Premium level is reserved for anyone who has ever paid a membership fee, whereas the Captain’s Club offers exclusive features for those who continue their subscription. Here are more details from the official site: Pirates of the Burning Sea™ can soon be played for free with unrestricted access to the Port Conquest system and core mission Continue reading on Gear Diary …

I have to admit – I USED eMusic more than once. And by ‘used’ I don’t just mean ‘make use of the service’ … I mean that I grabbed one of those ‘get 50 tracks free’ offers, canceled after the first month, and wait for the next email with another offer or 50 or 75 tracks for free. But a few months ago I had used up all of my free tracks, and had more I wanted to grab … so I let my membership charge persist. And again, and again this past month. Then a week or so ago eMusic was changing their price plan and add 250,000 new songs a mere… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Streaming music has made huge inroads over the last year or so, but according to this article has yet to fully gain mindshare with most folks. The folks at the recently launched Rdio are hoping to grow mindshare organically through a Facebook giveaway! Here are some details: Today we’re kicking off the Rdio Free Subscription Sweepstakes! We’re giving away a 1-year Unlimited subscription every day until Christmas. Yep, that’s right—30 days and 30 opportunities for you to win a year of music on Rdio. We’re picking a winner from each day’s entries, so come back often. Check out the Sweepstakes tab on our Facebook page to find out how Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Amazon isn’t shy about finding new ways to sell books, and now they’ve rolled out a fairly creative one. Using the Creative Commons license, Amazon is recreating Wikipedia articles about authors and books, hosting them on Amazon.com, and inserting links to buy books referenced in the articles. From CNet: “Shopping-enabled Wikipedia pages are a new introduction on Amazon.com,” Amazon spokeswoman Anya Waring told CNET when asked via e-mail. “As of November, we have rolled [the feature] out in the books category; however, [it] will be expanding to new categories in 2011.” It’s not an official partnership, Waring explained. Amazon’s use of the content is licensed under Creative Commons, the alternative to traditional copyright that Wikipedia Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It may only have an 11.6″ screen but today’s Gear Deal will have you happily gaming away no matter where you go. Dell’s Alienware m11x gaming laptop has a 1.3GHz ULV Core 2 Duo processor and a 1GB GeForce GT 335M discrete GPU. The screen is a WLED 720p LCD and it features a 1.3-Megapixel Webcam, 802.11n WiFi, 2GB DDR3 memory, a 160GB Hard Drive, and runs Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OS. That’s quite a bit of gaming computer squeezed into something you can take anywhere. With this configuration the Alienware m11x gaming laptop has an MSRP of $799 but our Gear Sponsor has found deals to get $200 off instantly plus an… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

It took me quite a while to get my free iPhone 4 case from Apple.  I could have gotten one sooner, I suppose, but I wanted to wait for the Speck case.  Speck cases are, in my view, more durable and better looking than the other offerings that Apple had available, and I was willing to wait to get what I wanted, instead of settling.  (Not that I have been unhappy with the iFrogz case that I got while I was waiting.) But Speck has cases all the time, and there’s no reason to wait if you’re wanting to cover up your new Galaxy Tab or Vibrant Galaxy S.  Just surf on over to the… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Yup, that’s right!  You, standing there with your naked HTC  myTouch 4G.  And you in the back, wanting to cover up your Galaxy S SCH-i500!  And you, you in the back there!  Yes, you, with the bad haircut, wild look in your eyes, and the Samsung OMNIA 7 GT-i8700 clutched in your hand!  You need a case too, right? PDAir wants to cover all of you folks.  That’s right!  Every one of you.  And they have multiple cases to do the job. So what all is PDAir releasing?  Well! Leather Case for T-Mobile HTC myTouch 4G – Flip Type (Black) Leather Case for T-Mobile HTC myTouch 4G – Book Type (Black) Continue reading on Gear Diary …

This is obnoxious! I am absolutely awful at those “guess what this is” type games where they show you the tiniest portion of a product and expect you to figure out what it is … and this one happens to come with a prize that I am sure I would love to win! ioSafe, makers of the fantastic hard drives that are impervious to fire, water, crushing — or any other disaster man or nature can throw at them (and you had better believe that we have tried!) — is giving away a mystery item that they will soon be unveiling at CES. It seems like… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

For the second time in two days I was giving a technical talk: one at night in a public setting, the other to a project team at work. In both cases I needed to note some questions, discussions, take contact info and jot down some ‘to do’ tasks and follow ups. It was only when someone said something in each case that I even realized – all I brought with me was my iPad. It has been nearly 8 months since the release of the iPad, and I cannot imagine going anywhere without it. Through numerous discussions I know that many of the other Gear Diary folks feel the same way… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

When I graduated from high school, several of the PTAs in San Angelo banded together to do a Project Graduation party … one where we could go and  have fun, win prizes and (theoretically at least) be alcohol-free for the night. One of the events they held which drew the largest audience by far was an air guitar contest. Now bear in mind that I graduated in 1985, so this was before the days of Rockband — my friends were truly standing there, jamming on imaginary guitars — and it was beyond funny, yet also kind of impressive. For some reason these ThinkGeek shirts brought back that memory … I mean, can’t you just… Continue reading on Gear Diary …

The Dell Venue has been one of the more highly anticipated Windows Phone 7 devices, and now you can order your own! $99 with a two-year T-Mobile contract, or $449 contract free, the Dell Venue offers a unique form factor, a huge screen and a possibly triumphant return of Dell in the Windows mobile device space; past-Axim owners rejoice! Introducing the definitive Windows® Phone 7 experience with a 4.1-inch sliding touch display and full QWERTY keyboard.  Features include: The stunning 4.1-inch WVGA AMOLED capacitive, multitouch display enables easier navigation. With Office Mobile built in, you can operate on-the-go as seamlessly as you would at the Continue reading on Gear Diary …

Just because I figure we can all use a smile on the first day of one of the year’s most hectic months, I bring you the Chins. Slightly disturbing, yet highly amusing. Enjoy … Continue reading on Gear Diary …